Shoemaking



June 3, 1941. J. F. TEEHAN SHOEMAKING Filed Sept. 8, 1939 Patented June 3, 1941 ITED earner attics 4 Claims.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 259,605,

filed March 3, 1939. The invention relates to improvements in the art of shoe making.

It is an object of the invention to provide a shoe which can be fitted to feet of different instep measurements, and made to look Well thereon.

It is well known that human feet of the same length and width may vary in girth, especially at the instep. As it is a practical impossibility for a manufacturer to make or a dealer to stock shoes of each size having a variety of instep measurements, the common practice among last makers is to employ certain standard measure ments for the instep, waist and ball when designing a last of any given size and width. For example, in designing a last for a shoe of size 70, the last will be made to measure 8 /2" around the ball, 8 around the waist, and 8%" around the instep. The instep measurement is a compromise which comes between the instep measurements of a normal foot and that of a foot with a low instep. As a result, the ordinary shoe has an instep measurement which is too small for the normal foot so that such a foot causes an unsightly gap between the forward edges of the quarters in the case of a laced Oxford shoe. If the shoe is made with a non-adjustable fastening such as a fastener of the zipper type, it is too tight about the instep of the normal foot.

On the other hand, some feet are too low in the instep to fit a shoe made to standard measurements. In such cases the shoe does not fit snugly over the instep of the foot as it should.

According to the present invention. lasts made to standard measurements are employed. Pads or increasers are used with the lasts to increase the instep measurement of the shoe to that of the normal foot. Such pads are made of relatively incompressible material such as leather. The pattern for the shoe is correspondingly designed with an instep measurement larger than that of the last itself so that the upper will fit properly over the last as modified by the presence of the pad. The pad is removed from the completed shoe when the shoe is ready to be removed from the last. When the shoe is subsequently being fitted to a foot, one or more thin pads of soft felt are inserted under the eyelet portions of the quarters to adjust the inner instep measurement of the shoe to that of the foot. To accommodate such pads, suitable pockets may be made in the tongues of the shoes to receive and hold the pads. In this manner shoes are made to fit and to look well upon feet of different instep measurements.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description thereof, and to the drawing of which Figure 1 is a plan view of a shoe embodying the invention, before removal from the last.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan view of another shoe embodying the invention.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a shoe tongue having a pocket therein.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a pad for use during the making of the shoe.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a pair of soft pads for use in fitting the shoe.

Figure '7 is a section on the line 'l-l of Figure 3.

Figure 8 is a partial elevational outline of a shoe last indicating the location of the standard girth measurements.

In Figure l is shown an Oxford shoe iii, the forward or eyelet portions of the quarters being secured together by a zipper type of fastener l2. This type of fastener is non-adjustable in the sense that it definitely determines the relation of the forward edges of the quarters so that the instep measurement of the upper itself is fixed as compared with a laced shoe, the forward edges of the quarters of which can separate to accommodate a foot having an instep measurement larger than that of the upper. This, however, results in a gap between the quarter edges which detracts from the appearance of the shoe.

Within the shoe shown in Figure 1 is the last 54 on which the shoe was; made. Underlying theeyelet portions of the quarters is a tongue it which, as indicated in Figure 4, consists of two thin pieces of leather or the like secured together along the side margins as at it to forma pocket which is open at the top. The inner element 2% is preferably slotted as at such slot being relatively narrow and extending longitudinally of the tongue for nearly the entire length of the element 20. The purpose of the slot 2.2 is to prevent wrinkling of the element 20 when the tongue is transversely bowed or bent to fit across the front ridge of the foot. Within the pocket of the tongue i6 is a pad or increaser 24 of suitable thickness which is preferably of some fiexible but substantially incompressible material such as leather and is skived around its periphery. This pad is inserted in the pocket of the tongue before the upper is lasted. The forward edges of the quarters are held together during the lasting operation by any suitable connecting means. In the case of the shoe shown in Figure 1, such connecting means is the zip-per fastener l2. In the case of a laced shoe such as is shown in Figure 2, the edges of the quarters are held in substantial contact by temporary lacings 26 of cord or the like which prevent spreading of the eyelet portions of the quarters. In either case, the pattern for the upper is made higher at the instep than the measurement at the instep of the last itself calls for so as to correspond to the instep of a normal foot. In making a shoe according to the invention, the upper is assembled with a pocket underlying the eyelet portions of the quarters. This pocket may be in the tongue of the shoe or in an extension of the quarter lining which may underlie the eyelet portions of the quarters in lieu of a tongue. When the upper is pulled over the last, the pad 24 is arranged to underlie the eyelet portions of the quarters, preferably but not necessarily by being, inserted in the pocket before the upper is pulled over. The shoe is then completed in the usual manner, after which the pad is removed from the pocket if it has previously been placed therein and the shoe is removed from the last. Since in the lasting operation the upper is usually pulled taut over the surface of the last, the tension on the quarters and the resultant pressure of the fastener l2 against the last is such as to make it practically impossible to undo the fastener so as to remove the shoe from the last. This difficulty is overcome, according to the invention, by the presence of the pad 24 which can first be withdrawn to provide sufiicient looseness of the upper so that the fastener can be released and the shoe removed from the last.

Figure 8 illustrates in outline a conventional last, this figure showing transverse lines 39, 32 and 3 1 which illustrate the location of the various girth measurements for the ball, waist and instep, respectively. The profile of the upper portion of a last made to standard measurements is indicated by the solid line 36, these measurements being average or compromise measurements for the waist and instep. The dotted line 38 indicates the alteration in the profile of the last which would result from making the last with an instep measurement equal to that of a normal foot. The dotted line 40 shows the change in profile of the last which would result from making the last with an instep measurement equal to that of a foot with a low instep.

According to the present invention, the last is made in the customary manner with average or compromise measurement at the instep. By assembling on such a last an upper and a pad so that the latter underlies the eyelet portions of the quarters, as hereinbefore described, the resulting shoe will fit a foot having a normal instep such as is represented by the line 38. In fitting the shoe to a foot having an instep measurement which is less than normal, one or more soft pads may be used such as are illustrated in Figure 6. As therein shown, a pair of felt pads 62 and 44 may be shaped to fit in the pocket of the tongue. These pads may be of any desired thickness and may be of different widths so as to avoid an abrupt change in thickness along the side edges. A set of such felt pads may be provided with each pair of shoes so that the shoes can be readily fitted by the retailer to feet having any instep measurement.

It is evident that various modifications and changes may be made in the embodiments of the invention herein shown and described Without departing from the spirit or scope thereof as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. Steps in a method of making Oxford shoes with a non-adjustable fastener device for the quarters, which comprise assembling the upper with elements forming a fiat pocket underlying the front portions of the quarters, inserting a tab of flexible but substantially incompressible material in said pocket, lasting the upper, completing the shoe on the last, removing said tab from said pocket, and thereafter removing the shoe from the last.

2. A method of making and fitting shoes, which comprises assembling the upper with a slide-fastener device on the front portions of the quarters and with elements forming a fiat pocket underlying said front portions, inserting a tab of flexible but substantially incompressible material in said pocket, lasting the upper and completing the shoe on the last, removing the tab from said pocket, thereafter removing the shoe from the last, and inserting in said pocket a soft tab of selected thickness. r

3. A method of making shoes, which comprises selecting a last having the usual average instep measurement corresponding to the shoe size, making an upper with elements forming a flat pocket underlying the eyelet portions of the quarters, connecting said eyelet portions together so that the edges thereof are substantially in contact, assembling on said last said upper with a tab of substantially incompressible material within said pocket, completing theshoe on the last, removing the tab from said pocket and thereafter removing the shoe from the last, whereby said pocket may receive a soft tab of selected thickness to adjust the effective instep measurement of the shoe to the foot to be fitted.

4. A method of making shoes, which comprises assembling the upper with a slide fastener device on the front edges of the quarters and with elements forming a flat pocket underlying the front portions of the quarters, inserting a tab of substantially incompressible material in said pocket, lasting the upper and completing the shoe on the last, removing the tab to permit operation of the slide fastenenand thereafter removing the last from the shoe, whereby said pocket may receive a soft tab of selected thickness to adjust the effective instep measurement of the shoe. 7

JOHN F. TEEHAIT. 

